Service Providers (BPM)

To invoke a Web service, you need the WSDL from the service, which describes the port, service name, operations, and messages that the process needs to communicate with the service. Web services are modeled in PowerDesigner as service providers.

Service providers can be created in models targeting the SOA, BPMN, and BPEL languages.

A service provider contains interfaces (see Service Interfaces (BPM)), which in turn contain operations (see Operations (BPM)), which can implement processes (see Linking an Operation to a Process). You can import a WSDL to recover web service description objects or create them manually. You can also import an OOM component or a database web service as a service provider and export service providers (see Importing and Exporting Service Providers From/To Other Models). The service provider has no graphical symbol in the diagram.

Note: Service providers can be displayed with the interfaces and operations they contain in process service diagrams, linked with traceability links to show dependencies (see Process Service Diagrams (SOA)).

In the following example, the Process Corporate Order process can be implemented by the operations available in the Implemented by list. These are owned by the OrderPT service interface in the orderProcess service provider:

When you copy a service provider, you also copy its associated service interfaces. Shortcuts for service providers are not permitted.

Creating a Service Provider
You can create a service provider from the Browser or from the Model, Language or Tools menu.
Service Provider Properties
To view or edit a service provider's properties, double-click its Browser or list entry. The property sheet tabs and fields listed here are those available by default, before any customization of the interface by you or an administrator.
Importing a Service Provider from a WSDL File
If you have a WSDL file or if you find a WSDL published in a UDDI server, you can import the WSDL to create an abstract definition of a web service using service description objects (service providers, service interfaces, and operations).
Browsing for a WSDL File on a UDDI Server
You can browse for a WSDL on a UDDI server. You need to have Internet Explorer 5 or higher to use the Browse UDDI feature.
Importing and Exporting Service Providers From/To Other Models
You can link the abstract definition of a service interface and its operations in a BPM with a concrete implementation through an OOM component or a PDM database web service. You can initialize a BPM with an existing implementation defined in an OOM or a PDM or export a requirement analysis in a BPM to initialize an OOM for the implementation.
Service Interfaces (BPM)
A service interface corresponds to the Port Type object in a WSDL file, belongs to a service provider, and contains a set of operations. For example, a LoanApproval service interface may contain the Request and Check operations.
XSD Documents (BPM)
An XSD document defines the data schema handled by a service provider, and can be associated with a PowerDesigner XML model. When reverse engineering or importing web services, you can select the Create XML Model option to create an XSD document for each data schema found in the source WSDL.

Parent topic: Service Oriented Architecture BPM (SOA)